After two days of fighting at Allen High, student arrested with gun near school

After two days of fighting at Allen High, student arrested with gun outside school, police say

After two days of fighting at Allen High School, a former student made Facebook threats and then was arrested with a loaded gun as he walked toward the school Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Marcus W. Crespo, 18, of Allentown did not appear to be directly involved in either fight, but that did not stop him from writing a Facebook post Friday morning, saying he was "going to Allen strapped today, let's see wassup," authorities said. The post included icons of a gun and a fist, police said.

Crespo, who had been an Allen student but was sent to the high school's alternative program because of discipline issues, had earlier posted a picture on Facebook showing him holding a black gun with an extended magazine, according to court records.

Due to the threats, the high school was placed on lockdown at the end of the day and bus schedules were altered, according to court records. Police monitored the area and spotted Crespo walking with a group of teens toward the high school at 2:11 p.m., according to court records.

Officers patted Crespo down and found a loaded 9 mm Glock in his waistband and a packet of synthetic marijuana, court records show. Crespo, of the 100 block of South Ninth Street, was charged with terroristic threats, firearm not to be carried without a license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arrest happened at 11th and Walnut streets, several blocks from the school.

Crespo did not appear to have been directly involved in after-school fights on Wednesday or Thursday, police Assistant Chief Keith Morris said. He said no one was injured and no one has been charged in those fights.

Morris said police are continuing their investigation to see if the incident at Allen is gang-related and if it is related to a shooting that happened two weeks earlier near Dieruff High School.

Two people — a 22-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman — were charged with aggravated assault and related crimes in the April 9 shooting. Police say they were seeking "to settle the score" for a fight that happened a day earlier involving a juvenile they know.

Morris wouldn't say if police are beefing up patrols at either high school because he said, "I don't generally comment on operational issues."

According to a criminal complaint:

Allentown police received word that there were going to be fights after school at Allen High School on Wednesday and Thursday. A large fight broke out Wednesday on West and Linden streets and police said several more fights happened Thursday near West Park.

Police said those fights are under investigation and arrests are pending.

School district security received an anonymous phone call that there was going to be a shooting at the high school after class dismissal on Friday as payback for the fight that happened a day earlier at West Park. The tipster told police the shooting was going to be worse than the one that happened near Dieruff High School. No one was injured in that shooting.

Kim Golden Benner, spokeswoman for the Allentown School District, said Allen High School was placed on external lockdown late Friday, meaning no one was allowed to enter or leave the school, but all school activities continued as normal. Friday's lockdown happened only during eighth period, the last class period of the day, and lasted 25 minutes, she said.

Benner also stressed that the incident took place several blocks away from the school.

"At no time were Allen students, faculty and staff in any [danger of] harm," she said. "With the presence of the Allentown Police Department, security and safety was well-controlled."

Crespo was arraigned by District Judge Michael Pochron and sent to Lehigh County Jail under $25,000 bail.